Rajasthan Royals Vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Rajasthan Royals vs. Kolkata Knight Riders, Eden Gardens, Kolkata - 17th April 2010: An optimist sees a hope in every possible situation and all RR fans would be hoping that Kings XI Punjab can beat Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings in their two games while Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) can beat Deccan Chargers. This would give RR some chance of making it to the semi-final but the most important thing after all this is that RR should win the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.

This is a situation which RR would have wanted to avoid but since they are already in it, they will have to put in a good performance and win by a large margin.. Coincidentally this game also happens to be a must- win game for KKR who are also on the verge of elimination. Both teams have had disappointing outings in their last two games but in this game is a do-or-die situation to stay alive in the tournament.

This is the time for RRs batsman to stand up and be counted. They have a strong batting line-up and must back themselves and play some positive-aggressive cricket. This is the quality which makes RR the most loved team in the IPL. RR would possibly consider changing their batting order as currently their best batsmen Shane Watson, Yusuf Pathan and Adam Voges are batting one place too low. Also Naman Ojha and Michael Lumb need to get the team off to a solid start. RR should see to it that there are no run-outs in this game. KKRs bowling has been indifferent for most of the tournament and RR would be keen to make most of this.

KKRs batting looks pretty strong on paper with the likes of Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Sourav Ganguly, David Hussey and Manoj Tiwary. However their batting has not clicked as a unit and RR bowlers should try to take advantage of this. All RR bowlers Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Warne, Shane Watson and Kamran Khan need to bowl well collectively and restrict KKR batsmen. RR fielders need to support their bowlers by holding on to all their chances and save some crucial runs.

Player to watch out for:Michael Lumb the dynamic Royals opener needs to get RR off to a flying start and do what he does best that is to entertain fans.